


Finding the Spirit

by FivePips



Series: 12+ Fics of Christmas 2018 [8]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, M/M, small town
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-15 05:18:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16927212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FivePips/pseuds/FivePips
Summary: After Sirius embarrasses himself and the company, Monty sends him to Godric's Hollow to show him what Godric's Gifts is really about. Sirius finds a few surprises along the way.





	1. A Little Charity

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off of the cheesy Netflix movie: The Christmas Inheritance because the main girl is just spoilt a bit but a decent enough person and the love interest is a snarky bastard who can’t feel feelings right. Like the movie is basically the same as this but het, american, and not wolfstar

“I know I can do a backflip,” Sirius said after taking another shot at the bar.

“Really, if you do it, then I’ll give you £8,000 for the Potter’s charity.” The man with the nice hair and pretty smile had been flirting with Sirius all night at this charity event (as if he didn’t know Sirius Black was rather serious with Gilderoy Lockhart). He was due to give a speech at any moment about Fleamont’s charity that bought gifts for unprivileged kids. It was connected to Godric’s Gifts, which was a giant gifting empire. Sirius had been working there since finishing school. James, his best mate and Monty’s son, wanted nothing to do with it. It was assumed Sirius was going to be made CEO when Monty retired sometime in the (probably near) future.

“Deal.” Sirius smiled.

He made a big show of stretching then went into a run and did a flip. Perfectly, mind you. But as he landed, he tripped over a present that was by the Christmas tree that was in the bar. He tried to control his fall but he went right into the tree. Ornaments crashed to the ground. Sirius ate a few pine needles. When he regained his equilibrium, he looked up to see about five cameras pointing at him as well as many mobiles. This was not good.

***

The next day, Sirius’ name and the picture of him sitting in the wreckage of the tree was splashed across the headlines and he knew that it wasn’t going to go over well with Monty. Sirius wished he could just do the right thing when he needed to. He didn’t understand why that rebellious streak in him still ran so bloody deep. He loved the Potters and he loved the company. He wanted to do right by everyone but there was just something in him that wouldn’t let him. It was as if he constantly needed to fuck up for some reason.

“Ah, Sirius, can you come in?” Monty’s voice startled him as he had just passed by the man’s office. He thought he had got on without incident but he should have guessed Monty was lying in wait for him.

“Yes,” Sirius turned on his heel to go back towards Monty’s office where the tall man was standing with a smile on his face. That didn’t mean Sirius wasn’t in some type of trouble. Monty was always calm, cool, and collected. Even when he was angry.

They went into his office and Monty took a seat behind his desk. Sirius noticed that on top of it was the old red, gold, and green wooden box that held the Christmas letters. Those letters were started as a tradition between Monty and Albus, his partner in the company. They started them the year they began the company. Every year they traded off who wrote the letter. They were basically newsletters of their lives. This year, Monty was meant to send his letter along to Albus, who lived in Godric’s Hollow still. Both he and Monty had grown up there and lived there until Godric’s grew so big they needed to run it from London. Albus had retired two years before and went back to Godric’s.

“Sirius, I think… I think you need a reminder about what our company is about.” Fleamont leaned on the desk with his elbows.

Sirius nodded, not sure what to say.

“You know that you’re meant to be put in as CEO when I retire but I’m not sure if you’re ready.”

“Oh, I’m sorry about last night. It was daft. The bloke said he’d give the charity money if I did a backflip and—”

“As glad as I am that it was for — charity — Sirius, I think you’re not in touch with who we are. Godric’s started in that Hollow all those years ago before you were even born. Our business is regular people in small towns like that all over the world.”

“Right.” Sirius knew their demographic, he wasn’t sure where this was all going.

“Sirius, I want you to go to Godric’s Hollow tomorrow to deliver these letters to Albus.”

“Oh, I can do that.” Sirius nodded. That was easy enough.

“I want you to do it on a few different terms.”

Sirius raised an eyebrow, “Like what?”

“Like only have £100 in your pocket, what we started the company with. I don’t want you to tell everyone that you’re — well, you’re who you are.”

“All right.”

“So, you’ll take the bus there because if you go in a car it won’t make much sense and you’ll stay at Albus’ inn there. It’s nice so it’s not as if I’m sending you to a shack somewhere. All you need to do is to give the letters to Al. You must hand deliver them, though. It’s tradition.”

Sirius agreed. It didn’t sound like too much work. It wasn’t as if he was being sent to a foreign country with a dollar in his pocket. All he needed to do was drop the letters off and that was it. He never really thought about going to Godric’s before because he loved the city. It was fine because the company did start there but he wasn’t sure what else the place would have to offer him.

Later that night he was at home packing when his boyfriend, Gilderoy came into the flat. He looked very perturbed as to why Sirius was packing. “Darling, we don’t leave for Maui until Christmas Eve.”

Sirius snickered, “I’m being sent on a little work trip to Godric’s.” He shoved a pair of socks in his bag.

Gil made an annoyed face, “You’re joking. It’s right before Christmas. Also, that’s pretty far north.”

“Well, if I do this then I might just secure the CEO position.”

Gil’s eyes went wide.

“Exactly, now shut up and hand me that scarf.” Sirius pointed behind his boyfriend. “I have to deliver Monty and Al’s letters to Al. I’ll be home in like a day. I will be back in plenty of time to make our flight to Maui.” Sirius assured Gilderoy.

Little did he know what was awaiting him.

***

The bus ride was long. So bloody long. The seats were tight and not as comfortable as one would hope for when sitting on their arse for hours. Sirius was regretting his night with Gil because it just made it worse. He understood why Monty was sending him like that and not in a private car but he hated it a little. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to learn while on a long bus ride that felt like he was suffering through.

It was late in the afternoon by the time he arrived in Godric’s Hollow. He stepped off at the bus station, which was right on the High Street, which was so typical it hurt. The street was lined with shops of all kinds. Up and down and across the street were Christmas lights. Sirius thought it was so so quaint. Which was fine but he wasn’t sure if it was for him. He was sure that it looked lovely at night with some freshly fallen snow but now it was just slushy and cold. London had no snow and Godric’s seemed to be full of it. There was another storm on the horizon. Thankfully, Sirius was going to be gone before that.

As Sirius went to reach for his luggage, a man with a Christmas tree bumped right into it. Sirius nearly broke his ankle trying to stop it sliding into the oncoming car. It was an old looking antique red car. Sirius had no interest in cars. It was probably a fancy important thing worth a lot of money but he had no idea. He only knew that his bag hit the bumper as the driver tried to come to a quick stop. His clothes ended up everywhere on the ground. Sirius groaned and swore under his breath.

“If you needed a ride somewhere, then you could have asked someone round here. They would have helped you out. You didn’t need to throw your shite in the street.” The driver said as Sirius was bending down to pick up his things.

“Someone knocked it into the street with their bleeding Christmas tree.” Sirius stood up straight again to shout at the sarcastic prick. He was going to say something else snappy but the words died on his tongue when he saw the man standing there with his hands on his hips. He was tall, taller than Sirius so that was bloody tall. He had curly light brown hair and hazel eyes. He had dimples too, which would have been nicer if he were smiling not making a judgmental face. He was still handsome, though.

“Someone knocked it into the street with a Christmas tree… that’s… what?”

“I don’t know but it happened.” Sirius went back to picking things up and the man began to help him. “Sorry if there’s any damage.”

“I’m sure it’s fine.” The driver shook his hand, shoving a handful of clothes into the bag. “So, I’m assuming you’re staying at the inn. Or are you seeing a family member?”

“Oh, er, well I’m seeing someone but at the inn. I’m staying there.” Sirius explained a bit awkwardly, standing up once the bag was properly packed.

“I’ll drive you, if you want. I work there.” The man explained. “Least I could do for running your stuff over.”

“Um, I’ll just call a taxi or uber.”

“Yeah, ah, neither of those things exist here. You must be a Londoner. I can tell by the accent…and the fact you were on the bus from London.”

“I am,” Sirius considered the man. He didn’t know how else he would get to the inn so he agreed. “Sure, I’ll take the ride.”

“Brilliant, I’m Remus Lupin by the way.”

“I’m Sir-Si Brown.” Very creative, he almost scoffed at himself. “I’m in town to see my… uncle.”

“Who’s that then?” Remus picked his bag up and went to put it into the boot of his car. “I mean, I know everyone, not exactly a big place, Godric’s.”

“Ha, it’s Albus Dumbledore.”

“Fantastic! You’re Abe’s son? Their sister? I—”

“Don’t see the resemblance, no.” Sirius said as they both got into the car. “I’m not Abe’s son, I’m not even a nephew. It was just, his family was close with mine.” Sirius attempted to explain.

“That’s nice and all but Al’s not here. He went on some nature retreat. Cabin in the sodding woods shite.” Remus scoffed as he started to drive towards the inn. “He does this stuff now that he’s retired.”

Sirius frowned, “How long is he going to be gone?”

“Don’t know, few days. I’m sure he’ll be back before Christmas Eve. He’s always excited about the holiday.” Remus explained.

Sirius hoped it was before Christmas Eve. He had a flight to catch that afternoon. Plus, he didn’t have much money to get him through five days here. He also wanted to be on a plane to Maui Christmas Eve.

It didn’t take long to get to the inn, which didn’t surprise Sirius at all. Godric’s was small but lively. There were a lot of tourists in the area because of how nice it was during the holiday season. Godric’s Gifts also did a lot for that tourism because the company talked about how important the Hollow was to them. Albus and Monty credited the fact they were so giving to how they grew up in this place. Sirius wondered if it was crap or not. He wasn’t sure but because Remus had been a bit of a snarky arsehole then turned around and offered to help him.

Hogwarts, the small inn was a big old typically English building just off the high street. It was just missing a thatched roof, Sirius considered as they pulled up. It was properly decorated for Christmas, just like the rest of the Hollow. Inside it carried the same British Holiday Christmas Winter theme. There was a tree in the entryway and the sitting room and the dining room and behind the check-in desk. Fairy lights were hung up everywhere delicately. There were Santas and reindeer and holly and fresh garland all over the place. It was rather magical.

Remus checked him in then showed Sirius up to his room. Sirius met Alice, Mary, and Caradoc who all worked around the inn as well. They welcomed him happily and seemed interested in why he was there. He hoped none of them had seen him in the gossip blogs before. He didn’t want to blow his cover. That was something Monty had emphasized. Sirius was a bit surprised at how busy the place was, all the rooms were surely taken.

Once Sirius settled, he tried to call Monty, James, and Gil but the connection was complete shite. He had no bars at all. He couldn’t even send a damn text. How do people live that way? Were they not in the twenty-first century? Godric’s Hollow was a bit like stepping back in time. He wanted to talk to Monty about the letters and ask if it were possible to leave them at the inn if Al didn’t show up tomorrow. He wanted to tell James about Godric’s. James had been born there after all. He wanted to let Gil know that he made it and might be more than a night.

A few hours later, after fighting with his phone and trying to find something to watch on the small telly in his room, Sirius’ stomach growled. He went downstairs to ask someone about room service or dinner. Behind the desk, Remus and Alice were chatting.

“Hi, Si!” Alice smiled. “What can we do for you?”

Sirius hated that he gave Si as his name. He hated when Gil would call him that as a nickname. “I was a bit hungry. Is there room service or…”

“Well, we only do breakfast.” Remus explained. “Hope’s Cafe is the next best thing. It’s just a two minute walk.”

“Where’s that?”

“I’ll show you, I was about to head over actually.”

“Oh, thank you.” Sirius nodded. “I’ll grab my coat.”

When Sirius came back downstairs, he found Remus waiting for him near the door. He had his hands in the pockets of his coat looking a bit thoughtful. They headed out without a word and went towards High Street.

“You know,” Sirius started as they took the turn on to the street. “You have no mobile service here.”

“It must be your service because mine’s fine. If you need the phone, you can use the one at the desk.” The man returned as they came upon a man with a long beard with old tattered clothes. He was playing a guitar and singing but stopped as they approached. “Hi, Moody, here you go,” Remus handed the man some money. “Hope that buys you something warm.”

“Thank you Remus.” The man, Moody, replied.

Sirius felt a bit awkward. He only had his two £50 notes and didn’t normally give to the homeless on the street. He was charitable but he never really gave that way. Remus looked at him a bit expectantly but began to walk again.

“So, don’t really like charity?”

“No! No, I love charity — even if it’s a bit selfish. I mean, we’re doing it for ourselves after all. It’s just, I don’t think giving homeless people money directly helps. Encouraging them to get jobs and all that might be better. At least that’s what my boyfriend says.”

Remus snickered, “Well, no offense, but your boyfriend sounds like a twat.”

Sometimes, Sirius couldn’t agree more with that statement but bristled a little because Remus didn’t even know Gil. “Well, I do plenty of charitable things. Not that it matters.” Like backflips after a few shots…

“Huh, okay.” Remus didn’t believe him. “Here we are.” He opened the door to the cafe with a simple sign that read: Hope’s Café.

Sirius went right up to the counter and looked at the menu. It had a mix of breakfast, lunch, and dinner things as well as bakery items and coffees. “Oh, look who’s here.” The woman behind the counter said with a smile. Sirius suddenly realized it was Remus’ mum. They had the same nose and eyes. There was also something vaguely familiar about her. “Not a place to bring your date, I would think.”

“Not my date, mum.” Remus said as if that was the last thing he could ever want in his life. “He’s here to see Al.”

“Oh, well, he’s out of town now. He’ll be back by Christmas Eve, he’d never miss the Santa Dinner.”

“What’s the Santa Dinner?” Sirius raised an eyebrow.

“We raise money for people in the town who need it.” Hope explained to him. “Remus here is in charge of it this year.” She said proudly. “You should come!”

“Er, well, I’m going to Maui for Christmas so I won’t be around.” Sirius said.

Hope’s face fell a little, “No worries, now, what can I get you?”

“Ah, what do you suggest?”

***

Later that night, “Well he’s cute.” Hope said with a twinkle in her eyes. Remus hadn’t seen that look in ages.

“He’s a bit off a twat.” Remus snorted, helping his mum wipe down the tables. “Something’s weird about him too.”

“He was sweet to me.”

“Probably because he has this natural charm about him but the more you talk the more you realize that he’s an arse. He wouldn’t give Moody money.”

“Well, he took out his wallet and did you notice he only had £100? There weren’t even any cards in his wallet.” Hope insisted.

“Maybe he’s trying to get money from Al.” Remus set the cloth down on the counter.

“Or maybe he’s just in a tough spot. We’ve all been there, done that.”

“Did you see how he’s dressed? He looks fresh out of some investment firm in those trousers and that shirt and jacket. He’s going to freeze in that coat of his if he plans to stay any longer.”

“Remus,” Hope began to lecture.

“I’ll stop judging, sorry.” He smiled. “I should go, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He was staying at the inn until Al came back. He hoped one day to run it on his own. Until then, he was happy to do whatever was needed.

“You know, Remus, the fact that you reject the idea of dating someone so quickly isn’t great. I thought you worked out your trust issues.”

Remus didn’t want to talk about that.


	2. I Can Do That!

Sirius made his way downstairs the next morning for breakfast at the inn. He was hoping that he would find Albus there chatting with his guest but instead Remus Lupin was there being a good host. He was chatting with some older bloke and laughing about something. Sirius couldn’t get his head around the other man. Remus was an arse to him on and off since they met but when he saw Remus be sweet, it did something funny to him.

“Morning, Si.” Remus greeted him with a big smile. “How was your sleep?”

“Brilliant, that’s one comfortable bed.” Sirius said, following Remus over to the checkout desk. “So, ah, have you heard from Albus at all?”

“No, sadly not.”

“Shite,” Sirius bit his lip. “I need to see him… I er, so, I can’t really afford to stay another night. But I promise I’m good for the money.” He should have called Monty to ask for the extra money to stay another night. What he had left wasn’t going to cut it. But he wanted to prove to the other man that he could manage on his own. He was going to have to manage his own company soon enough — hopefully.

Remus frowned, “Oh, well, it’s okay. I mean, everyone has hard times.”

“Yeah…” Sirius wanted to tell him he wasn’t exactly having hard times but he needed to keep his cover.

“I have an idea, Alice is out sick today so Mary had to clean all the rooms. I was going to help her but if you could give her a hand I think Albus would be fine with a little working for your stay.”

“Ah, oh, um, sure.”

“Ever cleaned anything before?” Remus looked at him as if he wasn’t sure Sirius had ever seen a broom in his life.

“Of course I have!” Sirius said indignantly. “I clean my flat.” Sometimes, he did hire a lady to some stuff for him.

“Come on, then, I’ll show you what you can do.”

Sirius went with Remus upstairs to the closet where they kept their cleaning things. Sirius took the cart and vacuum with them to the first room on the floor. They opened it to find it rather messy. It looked like it was going to take a while. “Okay, so, start here. You’re going to do this floor and Mare has the floor up so you split it in half.”

“Great.” Sirius took a deep breath. “I can do that.” He wasn’t really sure if he could but he was going to damn well try.

It started off okay after Remus left him to do the work. He swept up the mess on the wood floor. He struggled with changing the sheets. He managed to empty the trash just fine. But then when he started dusting, he knocked over a vase and it shattered to pieces. Sirius bit his lip and looked at the door, waiting for Remus to come in looking disappointed. He didn’t, so Sirius went to work and made a mental note to buy a vase for the room when he had his cards back.

After picking the vase up, he went to vacuum the rug around the area rug. As he was doing that he caught his reflection in the mirror, he looked tired, which was weird. He had slept fairly well the night before. Maybe he was just stressed about these damn letters. He wanted Albus to be back so he could just give him the box and leave. Sure, the people in Godric’s were fine. Remus, although ran hot and cold, was decent. His mum was hilarious. Alice, Mary, and Caradoc had treated him nicely. Everyone he had come across was kind.

Sirius’ mind snapped back to the present when he smelt rubber burning. He looked down to see the vacuum was trying to suck up a pair of lace shorts. Sirius tried to pull it out of the vacuum but it wouldn’t moved. Then there was a bang and dust started to pour out of the vacuum. “Shite!” He said loudly, going to unplug the vacuum.

There was dust all over the carpet now and the machine was probably broken. A moment later, Remus came into the room wearing that look of disappointment that Sirius was sort of upset about. “So, it’s going to take a little longer than I thought it would.” Sirius tried to said with a smile.

“Right, what happened?”

Sirius tried to explain the incident as Remus went to fixing the vacuum cleaner. Remus was able to fix it quickly and replace the bag inside of it. Together they finished the room, Remus didn’t make any snarky comments about it.

“What is it that you do, exactly?” Remus asked as they went to go put the old bedding in the laundry.

“I’m in between things right now.” Sirius said vaguely. “I work in sales.”

“Huh, okay. Well, how good are you at baking? Any better than cleaning?”

Sirius’ eyes widened. “I can bake! I’m actually brilliant at baking. I do it all the time in my free time. My boyfriend hates it because he doesn’t eat sugar.”

“Why are you with this bloke?” Remus furrowed his brow.

“You don’t know him.”

“I don’t know him at all but I’m just going off of everything you’ve been saying. He sounds like a dick, mate. You could probably do better.”

“Probably?” Sirius laughed. “You don’t know anything about either of us.”

“I know that you haven’t said one nice thing about him.” Remus insisted.

Sirius frowned, thinking about what he had said about Gil since yesterday. Remus was right, there was nothing positive about him.

“Look, I don’t know anything about you two, you’re right. You seem like a decent person and it sounds like he brings you down.” Remus offered. “I’m now going to shut up and we’re going to go over to my mum’s and you’re going to help her.”

“Right,” Sirius nodded. “Let’s do that.”

***

Hope was surprised when her son and Si walked in the door of the cafe in the late morning. They both looked a little dusty, which Remus explained away right off. Si was in need of a way to pay his way until Al came back. He had tired cleaning because Alice was out ill at the inn but that didn’t turn out so well. Si apparently baked in his free time. Hope was always in need of an extra hand to bake around the holidays, so she accepted the offer. She thought it was sort of sweet that her son was trying to help Si, even though he wasn’t sure what to make of him.

Since Si had shown up yesterday, Hope had been searching her brain to how she knew him. It drove her mad last night, actually. So mad that she went to her laptop. For a good thirty minutes she looked up Si Brown. Then, it hit her. Sirius Black. That was who Si was. That was who was currently frosting biscuits at the moment.

Over 15 years ago, Hope and Lyall had gone to an event in London for Godric’s Gifts. Al and Monty had invited them out and Hope was excited to get away for the weekend. They and a few other people from town were put up at a posh hotel. They went to this event for the 20th anniversary of the company. There, Hope saw a very sad looking boy hanging around James Potter. He barely spoke three words the whole night and Hope was sure that the brooding ran deeper than the usual teenage angst.

That was confirmed by Effie when they had went to lunch the next day. Sirius was 15, Remus’ age in fact. He was going through some trouble with his parents. Effie and Monty were trying to get him out of the situation but it was going to be a process. Hope’s heart hurt for the boy but after a week or so she forgot about him. That was until last night when she was sitting in front of her laptop. When she searched Sirius’ name there were pictures of him partying and headlines about him being an embarrassment to the company. But other stories talked about how smart he was and how he would be a great replacement for Monty as CEO one day.

It was tormenting her a bit about what to do. Something was going on because Sirius was going by Si. He was acting strange, like Remus was saying. Her son was right about Sirius hiding who he was.

“I think I’ll take some biscuits to Remus,” Si or Sirius said happily, decorating a batch. “He’s been helpful today even if he’s sarcastic about things.”

“That’s my son.” Hope sighed. She decided she might as well ask. “Si, are you going by that now? Or is it still Sirius?”

Sirius was mid-frost on a cookie. He stood there with the flat spatula in one hand and the cookie in the other, motionless.

“Okay, Sirius then.” Hope laughed and went to go stand across from him. “Why are you pretending to be someone else?”

“I— how did you know?”

“We met, years ago.” Hope explained.

“Oh, I thought you looked familiar. I thought maybe Monty had your picture up or something.” Sirius set the cookie and spatula down.

“I was at an event a while ago, you were just a teenager then. Remus wasn’t there or he’d remember you.” Hope said. She knew her son and Sirius Black was Remus’ type. “I didn’t realize it until after I went home last night. What’s going on?”

“Monty sent me up here because I need to deliver the Christmas letters to Al. I was given the instructions to do it by hand but Albus isn’t here. Plus, he only gave me a little money and took my cards. I swear he screwed with my mobile service and requested them not to put a phone in my room.” Sirius complained. “I’m not supposed to tell anyone who I am. I’m just — I’m supposed to get to know Godric’s better. It’s an important part of the company and all.”

“And you want to be CEO.”

He nodded. “Even if I didn’t, I’d do it anyway because it’s important to Monty.”

“Okay,” Hope said.

“So, you’re not going to tell anyone?”

“If Monty wanted you to do this, he has his reasons. He’s a smart man, I wouldn’t go against him.”

“Thank you, Hope.”

“No worries, though, if you can, I would tell my son. I won’t do it for you but he has some trust issues.” She informed Sirius.

Sirius bit his lip, “Yeah, well, maybe I will.”

***

It was past dinner time and Si had not return from his mum’s. He said that he baked in his spare time. Remus could only assume the baking was going better than the cleaning. That or his mum had sent Si off somewhere else in the Hollow or the café had been burnt down. Remus still couldn’t figure the other man out. He was trying hard to be helpful and work his way to pay for the room. It just didn’t make any sense to why he was in need of money. At the same time, he liked Si. He was funny and seemed smart enough. There was just something else off.

“Here,” Remus looked up to see the other man grinning from ear to ear. He was holding a plate full of red and green frosted sugar biscuits out in front of him. “I made them myself. I wanted to say thank you for letting me work off my debt.”

Remus peered at the plate, “Really?”

“Yeah, try one.”

He picked up a cookie and took a bite. It practically melted in his mouth. “Oh god, Si, this is amazing.”

He perked up, “Really?”

“Yes! You need to open your own bakery.” Remus said before finishing the cookie off in another bite.

“I love baking, it’s so fun. How was the rest of your day? Your mother is brilliant, you know that, right?”

Remus nodded, “She is pretty brilliant. My day was fine. There’s a bloke who stays here, his wife was passed years ago but he comes every Christmas to remember her since they used to come here together. Well, he was being a bit grumpy so I tried to cheer him up.”

Si smiled so bright that Remus nearly made his knees weak but the phone rang and broke any sort of sweetness Remus was about to give him back. “Happy holidays, Hogwarts Inn, how can I help?”

“I’m looking for Si-”

“Oh! He’s standing right in front of me.” Remus said, cutting the man off because he thought it was funny, and Sirius raised an eyebrow.

“Well, put him on then,” The man sounded even posher than Si but far more bored.

“For you, sounds pleasant,” He handed the phone over to Sirius.

“Hello… Oh, hi Gil… so, yes… well, I have to stay one more night at least… No, he’s not here…could be Christmas Eve… I’ll figure it out… I have to do it in person, that’s what he said… it’s fine… Gilderoy! I don’t understand why you’re being this way!”

Remus wasn’t sure what possessed him. It probably was that Gilderoy was an arsehole. He reached over and pulled the cord out of the phone. The bloke, who he assumed was Sirius’ boyfriend, sounded like an arsehole.

“Gil… hello?” Sirius held the phone away from his ear. “I lost connection.”

“Huh, ah, well, it’s really cold. Sometimes that happens.”

“With the cold?”

“Yeah, don’t know…” Remus shrugged a shoulder. “Did you eat or would you like to get some dinner?”

“I haven’t ate yet, no.”

“Brilliant, let’s go. We won’t eat at my mum’s, we can change it up. I’ll pay.”

Si smiled again and laughed. “Okay, sounds good.”


	3. The Storm

Looking out his window, Remus sighed. The snowstorm was bearing down on Godric’s furiously. The wind was wiping hard, the trees looked like they were going to snap. The snow was falling fast, so fast now Remus could barely see to the front gate of the property. It was one of the worst storms he had seen before. It had been raging on nearly all day. Coming on hard like this every so often. It kept Si from leaving or Al from coming, Remus wasn’t sure which one but he was okay with it because he was enjoying the other man’s company.

Si had gone to his mum’s to help her bake something to bring to the guests who were hunkered down at the inn. They had trudged back in the snow just a little while ago with food in hand. Si didn’t seem too bothered by the fact that he had to stay in Godric’s for another full day even though they were three days out from Christmas and he was supposed to be going off. Remus thought it was odd that Si didn’t seem too worried about getting back to London to catch his flight to Maui on Christmas Eve anymore. Maybe the man was enjoying time away from his twat of a boyfriend. Remus couldn’t blame him.

“I’ve never seen it snow like this before. God, it’s coming down now.” Si said over his shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m sure roads are closed all over the place because of this.” Remus said. “Might be around for another day, I think.”

Before Sirius could react to that, the front door of the inn swung open and Frank Longbottom, who was in his constable uniform walked in. Behind him were three families that Remus knew well. “Remus, mate, could you maybe find room for them? It’s bloody cold and they lost power on the east side of town. These folks don’t have a fireplace to keep them warm tonight and I’d hate to leave them like that.”

“Of course we can.” Si said and Remus looked at him like he had ten heads. What an assumption…. A correct one, though. “I mean, I’m sure that Remus can figure it out.”

“It’s not a problem, Frank, we don’t want them staying out in the cold, do we?” Remus smiled. There were the Lovegoods, who were mum, dad, and baby. Mr and Mrs Bagshot, an elderly couple. They were there standing next to Emmy, a single mum, with her two daughters.

“Out in the cold…” Si muttered next to him.

“What?” Remus looked at him.

“Nothing!” Si shook his head.

“Okay, well, I’m going to grab more firewood from the porch. Why don’t you all settle in down here and have some hot coco and biscuits?” Remus said to everyone.

They all agreed and Remus walked out with Frank. “He’s something else, huh?” Frank said, referring to Si.

“Yeah, he is. He can be a bit of a twat but he’s all right.”

“Huh, finally interested in someone.”

Remus shrugged. He could see the appeal of Sirius, he really could. He was good looking, smart, funny, and he could bake which seemed like a wonderful plus. The only thing was that he seemed too spoilt. Maybe it was just the influence of his shite boyfriend.

“No denial. Very interesting.” Frank grinned. “All right I have to get going.”

“Bye Frank,” Remus didn’t dignify the insinuation with any sort of answer as he went to the far end of the porch to get the wood for the fireplaces inside.

The wind was whistling loudly as he loaded the bucket with some logs. He had wanted to show Si something tonight but it wasn’t looking like that was possible now with this weather. It wasn’t too late in the night so there was still hope. Remus wanted the man to experience everything that Godric’s had to offer.

Remus went back inside to find his mother serving his guests cookies and hot chocolate. Caradoc and Mary were chatting with the guests. Everyone seemed relaxed, which was a good thing in bad weather, Remus thought.

The only person missing was Si. “Where’s Si?”

“I thought he was helping you?” His mum frowned.

“What? No, he’s not out there.” Remus shook his head. “He went out in this? His coat is far too thin and his shoes are shite. It’s bitter out there.”

“Where on earth would he go?” Mary questioned.

“I don’t know.” Remus shook his head and went back over to the window. “I should go look.”

“No, you’re not going out there as well.” His mother shook her head.

“I’ll give him fifteen minutes, if he’s not back by then then I’ll go find him.” Remus couldn’t comprehend where on earth Si could have gone.

Mary and his mother looked at one another. “Fine, deal.”

So, he waited fifteen minutes, looking between the window and the clock the whole time. What on earth was that moron doing? He had shite shoes and his coat was not heavy enough for this storm. There wasn’t anything out there for him. It wasn’t as if he was getting away from Godric’s. Honestly, Remus thought Si was beginning to enjoy it since they got dinner the night before.

Just as Remus was about to put his jacket back on, the door flung open and in came Si. His cheeks were red and he was sniffling. His clothes were dripping wet but he was carrying himself as if he accomplished some type of feat.

“Where the bloody hell were you? You are not equipped to go out in the storm.” Remus snapped at Si before he could barely cross the threshold. Why did he care this much about the other man? He was some stranger from London.

As Si began to talk, Moody came in behind him. “You said we couldn’t leave people in the cold and—”

“You should have told me,” Remus insisted as his mum brought Moody in. Mary asked everyone if they wanted refills on their coco.

“I — I — I wanted to do the right thing.” Si said, teeth chattering.

“Go change then stand by the fire. I’ll get you something warm to drink.” Remus pointed to it.

Si nodded then did as asked.

Remus went over to get a cup of coco and avoid any looks he would get from his mother. He couldn’t believe Si did that for Moody but he was somewhat proud of the man and his choice.

“Here, warm up.” He said once he found Sirius by the fire in new, dry clothes. His hair was still damp.

“Thanks,” Si took the offered cup. “I should have said something. Just to let you know, I can be a bit impulsive.”

“You don’t say.” Remus laughed. “I had no idea.”

“So, you’re not angry.”

“No, I’m not. Look, I hate to ask but would you mind kipping on the sofa tonight? I’d like to give one of the families a room. I’m staying in one while I work here. Then you’re in another. There’s two sofa’s down here. I’m not sure what to do with Moody or the other couple.”

Si nodded, “Well, I’m sure we can figure it out.”

They did figure it out. The couple that was staying in the honeymoon suite offered Emmy and the girls to stay on the sofa bed. The Bagshots stayed in Flitwick’s room while he choose to stay on the sofa in there. The Lovegoods stayed in Remus’ room. Moody got Si’s. Remus and Si would sleep downstairs for the night. Remus knew he could go home to his mum’s as well but he was in charge at the inn, he should be there.

***

Remus walked Hope home when the weather looked a bit better, even if it was still cold. The guests were starting to filter up to bed. Mary and Caradoc were cleaning up. So, Sirius decided to poke around the inn a bit. He ended up in Albus’ office, which it looked like was taken over by some half rate St. Nick. There were a few shelves lined with cheap toys. On a small table some flyers about the Santa Dinner and Charity Auction on Christmas Eve sat in a basket. Sirius smiled, seeing at the bottom if you were interested in donating then contact Remus Lupin. It appeared it was the taller man was the half rate Santa.

It also appeared that he might have been some artist because there was a large sketch pad near the desk with a few drawings of different people at the inn, including one of Sirius. “You’re nosey, aren’t you?”

Sirius nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the other man’s voice because he was poking his nose into places that they didn’t belong. “Just a bit. You’re brilliant.” He pointed to the sketch pad.

“It’s a hobby.”

“One you’re brilliant at, yeah.” Sirius scoffed. “You’re in charge of the Santa dinner?”

“Yeah, I need to get donations from the businesses but things were so busy the last few weeks here I haven’t got the chance. It’s going to be complete shite.”

“I’m sure we can figure something out.”

“We?” Remus raised an eyebrow. “Si, I didn’t realize that we are a we now.”

“I’m just trying to be helpful. I like the people I’ve met in Godric’s,” He shrugged, feeling himself flush.

“I thought charity was shite.”

“I didn’t say that!” Sirius spoke defensively.

“You basically did.”

“I’ve had a change of heart, then.” Sirius insisted. He never thought it was shite. He just never thought about it on a smaller level. All his giving was normally large and tended to be anonymous. Helping one person like Moody was new. He only was inspired to help because of how Remus dealt with everyone. Even though Remus could be snarky, he seemed actually to care about everyone.

“That’s good, then.” Remus nodded.

“So, what do you need to do for the charity?”

“I need to get some donations but I’m not sure when I’m going to do that, especially now I’ll have to be working extra hard with the new unexpected guests.”

Sirius frowned, not sure what to say.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” Remus asked, changing the subject suddenly.

Sirius tilted his head and furrowed his brow. “It’s snowing.”

“Actually, it’s stopped. There’s something I think you may like. Most people do.”

“It’s outside?”

“Yes, it’s worth it.”

Sirius thought for a moment because it was so bloody cold. He was so curious about what Remus could want to show him. “Sure but I think I need proper boots and a good jacket.”

“I have some you can borrow, come on.”

Soon enough they were headed out on their adventure. Now the snow had stopped falling, everything was covered in a pure white blanket. The lights of the main street looked stunning in the dark night against the snow. Sirius could see the appeal of living in a place like Godric’s, especially over the last couple of days. Everyone he had come across had been so kind and courteous. They all wanted to help one another.

“Have you lived here your whole life, Remus?” Sirius asked because he was a bit more than curious about the man.

“No, actually. I lived in London for some time. I went to Kings and I was nearly married to this bloke after uni so I stayed there.”

“Why’d you come home?” Sirius put his gloved his in the heavy jacket Remus had leaned him.

“Well, my dad became ill. My boyfriend refused to move with me and refused to do long distance. He apparently didn’t love me as much as I thought.” Remus explained as they took a path off High Street. It was lined with Christmas lights going towards a wooded area.

“How long were you dating?”

“Six years.”

“Jesus,” Sirius’ eyes went wide. “I don’t think I’ve ever loved something that long. I’m sorry, Remus.”

“It’s fine, I wasn’t meant to be with him.”

“I’m sorry about your dad too, I mean, I assume he’s passed.”

Remus nodded, “Just a week after I moved back. My ex didn’t leave me as much as I walked in and found him shagging someone else.”

“No,” Sirius felt as if he wanted to go punch this unknown bloke. “Your ex did this to you and then that happened so soon?”

“And my mum wonders why I don’t date.”

Sirius laughed, Hope had mentioned that to Sirius before.

“Okay, it’s just down here.” Remus said as they crunched across the newly fallen snow into a little grove of trees, all decorated with lights. The lights shone so lovely against the new snow. Sirius wished he could have a picture of it but he was sure it would never look the same.

In the middle of the open space between the trees were ice sculptures lit up. Remus went over and brushed snow off of a few of them. A snowflake, a Christmas tree, flowers, the moon, and a dog were just a few. “Did you’d do these?” Sirius questioned eagerly.

“No, ha, I did draw them for my mate. Ben, he does this with his students at the uni nearby.”

“These are so beautiful.” Sirius examined them quietly for a few minutes with a smile on his face.

“So, Si, any deep dark secrets? Like why are you dating such an arsehole?”

Sirius stood up straight and looked at Remus with a raised eyebrow. “You know, he’s not that bad.”

“Sounds that bad.”

“Look, you want to know what I can’t get over, like you can’t get over your ex?”

“Only if you want to share.”

“I do.” He couldn’t quite grasp why he needed to tell Remus this. Maybe he needed to tell Remus something real about him even if he couldn’t tell him who he was. “It’s my parents. I grew up in this oppressive, abusive home up until I was sixteen. My mate’s family took me in but I lost my brother to them. Once I got out of the house, I lived life as nothing mattered. I’m not as reckless as I was but I still live big. I always have the big picture. That’s why I didn’t get your small charities. I do now.” Sirius practically blurted out at the other man.

“I’m sorry,” Remus said so sincerely that it hurt.

Sirius nodded, he wasn’t sure why he felt compelled to tell this complete stranger all this. He felt like he could tell Remus anything. The man just had a presence about him, at least he did for Sirius. Except the Sirius Remus knew was a lie. Well, not completely. Remus knew who Sirius was without knowing his name or why he was in town. It wasn’t as if he completely lying about who he was. Maybe Remus knew him better than he would have if Sirius told him outright that he was involved in Godric’s Gifts?

“I feel like this is where we kiss.” Remus laughed then bit his lip.

Sirius was sure that he was joking but he felt himself lean in before stopping himself abruptly. “Boyfriend.”

“I know, I was just — I was joking.” He didn’t sound too sure about that.


	4. The Boyfriend

After sharing some secrets with one another and making fools of themselves by almost kissing, Remus and Sirius headed back to the inn. Sirius didn’t get much sleep that night because he was thinking over a few questions that were knocking around in his head: why could he talk to Remus so easily, why did he want to kiss the other man so much, what would Remus think if he knew who he really was, did he love Gil, and how could he go about helping Remus get the Santa dinner together? He tossed and turned on the settee for hours on end until the sun came up.

Remus was still sleeping when Sirius shuffled quietly out of the inn to go to Hope’s Café. He had a plan that he’d been working on in his head to help Remus scare up some donations for the upcoming Santa Dinner in just one day. Remus had so much to do and Sirius had plenty of time to help him out with it. He also wanted to spend some time away from the other man because he was feeling far too interested in him.

Hope was in the kitchen getting ready for the day, “Hi, Sirius, what’s going on?”

“I’m trying to help Remus out. I was wondering if I could borrow your kitchen for a bit, if it’s not any trouble.”

“What are you helping Remus with?” She asked.

“The Santa Dinner,” He said happily. “Remus hasn’t been able to get as many donations as he wanted, so I figured I would go around to do so.”

“That’s nice of you, Sirius, you don’t have to do that, you know?”

“I know. I honestly thought of just donating some money when I got back my cards but this seems better.” Remus had taught him that it was good to do small acts of kindness and this was something small he could do.

“Okay, but why do you need the kitchen?”

“I’m going to bake some biscuits then I’m going to go round to the shops in the Hollow to see if they’re willing to donate anything.”

Hope grinned, “That’s sweet. Is this your way of flirting with my son because if it is, it’s probably going to work.”

“I’m not flirting with Remus.” Sirius flushed. He has spent the night thinking about kissing the other man. He had spent nearly two whole days with him. He was a bit of an arsehole but he was sweet when and where he needed to be. He was completely the opposite of Gilderoy. Remus seemed like he was out of Sirius’ league the more he thought about it.

“Huh, things must have changed since I’ve tried my hand at dating.” Hope shook her head. “If it’s worth anything, Sirius, he seems to fancy you. I’m only encouraging this because my son would rather sit and be miserable forever than be vulnerable.”

Sirius laughed but thought about how Remus showed him that vulnerability the night before. He was vulnerable back but still kept who he was. “Do you think… if he knew who I was, do you think he’d still…”

“Fancy you? Yes but I wouldn’t let it go on for too long. That’s why I wanted you to tell him who you were the other day when I figured it out.” Hope said. “But, Sirius, if you are interested and you tell him, don’t be surprised if he panics and rejects it at first.”

“Right but I don’t. I have a boyfriend.”

“Gilderoy? He sounds like an arse, Sirius, I’m sure you realize this.”

“Can we not talk about this all right now? I should get going, I have a lot to do.”

Hope smiled knowingly but said nothing else on the topic. She let him get down to baking.

Soon enough, Sirius was heading out the door lugging along his little jars of cookies. Hope let him borrow her Nissan, which was large enough to carry what he wanted to get. He started at the art gallery, who donated a few paintings. The dress shop next door gave him two nice gowns. The local bakery gladly gifted him a few dozen cookies in return for his own. The music shop gave him a crate full of records. The toy shop, three toys any kids would be happy to have. The outdoor shop gave him a nice jacket. The technology store donated a laptop!

On and on he went through town and by the time he got to the end of the High Street, Hope’s car was bursting at the seams with some goods even tied to the roof. All these places were more than willing to give not only because they wanted to help their community but also because Remus was involved. All the owners loved Remus and wanted to help him run a successful event. Sirius couldn’t wait to show the other man all the donations.

When he pulled into the inn, Remus was outside with Frank. Sirius grinned when he saw the confused look on both of their faces. Sirius nearly fell getting out of the car because he was so excited to talk to him about it. “What’s all this?” Remus questioned as Sirius went over to him.

“It’s for the Santa Dinner! I went around to the stores and they all donated something.”

“Si, this is — this is amazing. They just gave it to you?”

“No, they gave it to you.” Sirius corrected. “I just used my sales ability to get them to donate.” He was an excellent businessman.

“I don’t even know what to say,” Remus shook his head then pulled Sirius into a hug.

Sirius hugged him back as he heard a car pull up. He tried hard not to breathe in the woodsy scent of the man. Sirius didn’t pull away until he heard a very familiar voice. “Sorry to interrupt, love, but surprise. I know you’ve been during to see me.”

Gilderoy was walking up the pathway looking even more out of place in Godric’s than Sirius probably felt when he first arrived the other day.

“Gil, oh god, you’re here?” Sirius looked at him feeling probably more disappointed than a person should feel about seeing their boyfriend.

“Yes, hello,” He kissed him quickly then turned to Remus. “Mind getting my bags?”

Remus’ eyebrows went up at the request and looked like he wanted to say something scathing but Frank spoke up instead, “Come on, Remus, I’ll help. I’m sure he has a lot of baggage.”

The two men walked off towards Gil’s car.

“I came to rescue you. The Potters said they haven’t heard from you in days and neither have I, Sirius. I thought they might have kidnapped you or something. God knows what they do out here.”

“I’m just Si here, no one knows who I am. Monty wanted it that way, remember.” Sirius said softly.

“What have you been doing?” Gil asked as Remus came back with Gil’s overnight bag and laptop bag.

“I’m just waiting…” Sirius shrugged as Remus gave him an annoyed looked before going back inside.

Once the door closed, Sirius turned back to Gil. “You know, I have to wait until Albus is back. I’m supposed to give him the letters in person.” In reality, Sirius hadn’t even thought of the sodding letters since two days ago.

“Why don’t we give it until tomorrow morning. If he’s not back then, we leave them here for Albus to pick up. We have a flight to catch tomorrow night.” Gil explained.

“Fine,” Sirius conceded. The idea of going to Maui now seemed very off-putting. He was full of Christmas cheer right where he was. Christmas seemed like it needed to be in a place like Godric’s not spent on Maui’s beaches. “That’s — fine.”

“Good, can I nap?”

“Sure, I need to go do something anyhow. I’m room three.” Sirius let Gil walk in alone.

***

After spending some time at Hope’s helping out, Sirius went to the rec center where the Santa Dinner was being held the next night. Remus was there setting up for the big day tomorrow. He was staring at the pile of donations Sirius had acquired. Sirius went right over to I’m with a smile on his face. He was more excited to see Remus after only a few hours than he was to see his boyfriend after a few days. He probably should have thought about that feeling a bit more.

“Sorry if Gil was a twat.”

“Why are you with him? Honestly, Si.” Remus ran a hand through his tawny, curly hair.

Sirius shook his head.

Remus sighed, “Look, I’m sorry about the night before about how I said that it felt like we should kiss. I really would like to be your mate because we get on — even if you can be an idiot sometimes. I feel like I can trust you for some reason.”

This was not good. He was lying to Remus and now the man trusted him? Hope said he never trusted anyone. He was never vulnerable. Shite. “Me too, Remus.”

“Okay, mates then. Want to help me set up a bit?”

“Sure.”

Sirius spent an hour with Remus helping out before going back to the inn. He found Gil on his laptop in the sitting room of the inn looking miserable. Gilderoy was only happy when he had just closed a big deal or his cock was up Sirius’ arse. “The internet is slow.”

“Oh, sorry.” Sirius said, not sure why he was apologizing for that.

“Where were you?”

“Just helping Hope out because her café is busy, we should go get dinner there now.”

“No thanks.”

“Okay, well, afterward, I went to help Remus sent up for the Santa Dinner that’s tomorrow.”

“Why on earth are you helping out with everything?” Gil scowled. “It makes no sense.”

“I like the people here.” Sirius said. He could understand why the place was so important to Monty, Albus, and the company. There was something magical about it. The community was fantastic.

“It’s so backward here.”

Sirius clenched his jaw.

“I don’t know why you’re trying to be like these people. You’ll never be like them and that’s a good thing, Sirius. Just leave the letters and we’ll head back to London now.”

“No, we said we’d wait until tomorrow and we will.” Sirius said with a sharpness in his voice. “I’m going upstairs. I need a shower.”

“Surprised they have hot water.”

Sirius ignored his boyfriend.

***

Remus sat at the end of the bar in The Three Broomsticks thinking about Si and his terrible boyfriend. Now that he met the man, he truly didn’t understand what Si saw in him. The only thing he had going for him was his supermodel good looks. Outside of that he seemed like an empty vessel. Si was better than that, Remus had discovered over the last few days. Why would he do that to himself?

Speaking of the empty vessel, Gil came through the door of the pub and sat down just a seat away from Remus. He ordered a martini before realizing he was sitting next to Remus. “Ah, the innkeeper.”

“I’m just helping Albus out.” Remus said. “Not that it matters.”

“I don’t understand what Sirius is doing here. He must be under some crusade for Monty.”

“What?” Remus furrowed his brow. Sirius? Monty?

“He’s only in Godric’s because Monty sent him out here to prime him for CEO.”

“I— As in Monty Potter?”

“Obviously,” Gilderoy huffed. “He must be taking some pity on you all.”

Remus’ heart sank. This person he had come to trust so fast was lying about who he was. This bloke he felt himself falling for wasn’t who he said he was. Not only was he lying about something small but he was apparently in line for CEO of Godric’s Gifts. The company that made Godric’s Hollow so popular. Monty and Albus did so much for the community now Sirius was using it to help himself?

“He’s meant to deliver these letter or some shite.”

“The Christmas Letter?” It was always read by Albus at the Santa Dinner.

“Right, fucking barmy old men.”

Remus clenched his fist on top of the bar. “I need to go.”

“Have a good night. Don’t worry, Sirius will be in Maui soon enough and out of your hair. I’m sure he’s been driving you mad.”

Remus ran back to the inn. He was happy to see that Sirius wasn’t awake because he wasn’t sure if he could stand to look at him. He went to the office and searched Sirius + Godric’s Gifts online. He found endless articles about the reckless bloke who was going to soon be in charge of the company. Sirius didn’t seem to have a care in the world but work and money. How could he be so gullible?


	5. The End

Sirius woke up to Gil packing their things neatly but quickly as if he couldn’t wait to get out of there. Sirius rushed to get ready, feeling something pulling in his gut. The idea of leaving Godric’s behind was painful. He knew he could never come back once he left. He was sure that Hope would eventually tell Remus. He knew that Remus would probably reject who he was because he had lied about it. Sirius should have listened to Hope to begin with. Hell, everyone in town would find out eventually that he was the new CEO when that time came. The little haven he found there was going to be gone forever.

Once they were packed up, Sirius and Gil went downstairs. Sirius was carrying the box of letters. Gil went right for the door but Sirius went for the desk because Remus was standing there. He was looking rather grumpy, so that wasn’t good. “Is Albus here?”

“No, he’s not.” Remus said coldly.

“Right, well, could I maybe leave this here? If we don’t leave now, I’m not going to be able to make our flight.”

“That’s too bad but as the sign says, we’re not responsible for valuables and those letters are pretty valuable, Sirius.”

Sirius’ heart dropped. Not only did Remus know his name but he knew what he was doing there?

“We like hearing about the company and getting an update. It’s all very important but I’m sure you have no idea. You don’t care about this town either. We’re just some charity case to make yourself feel better.”

“What — no — Remus let me explain.”

“No. So, should I send the bill to Godric’s or…”

Sirius clenched his jaw and handed him Gil’s card. “I’m sorry, Remus, I am but you have the wrong impression. You’re not a charity case, this place isn’t a charity case. I want—”

“You know, I’m really glad I don’t live in London any longer. I don’t have to be involved with people like you.” Remus typed away on the computer after running Gil’s card. “You’re only looking out for yourself.”

“You don’t understand Remus, when I came here I didn’t get it at first but now—”

“You feel bad for us?”

“No, I think you’re all bloody brilliant. I don’t want to leave.”

“Yet, you’re running off to Maui and can’t wait around.” Remus handed him the card back. “Hope you had a pleasant stay.”

Sirius stood there for a moment, holding the box of letters against his chest. Remus refused to look up at him. He wanted to say so much but he wasn’t sure where to begin or how to get there. “Babe, let’s go.” Gil grabbed his hand. “We need to leave now or we won’t make our flight.”

“Bye, Remus, I’m sorry.” Sirius said, feeling like he wanted to cry. “I should have just told you.”

Remus didn’t acknowledge him and Gil made an annoyed noise so Sirius went with his boyfriend. He wasn’t sure what would have done if he stayed. Sirius couldn’t, that would be crazy and impulsive, wouldn’t it? He was trying not to be impulsive anymore, so he had to go with his original plans. Maybe he could find a way to make it up to Remus and explain it all but he needed to go for now.

***

Hope was walking up to the inn when Sirius was leaving, carry the box of Christmas Letters in his arms. He looked absolutely crushed. His arse of a boyfriend kept walking when Hope caught Sirius by the arm, “You’re leaving?”

“I have to,” Sirius bit his lip.

“You could stay, Sirius. Please stay.”

“Your son hates me. He found out who I was.”

“I told you to tell him.” She sighed. “Stay for the Santa Dinner, I’ll talk to him. He’ll come around.”

His boyfriend honked the horn after starting his car.

“He’s an idiot, Sirius, leave him.”

“I need to go.” Sirius looked at the car. “I’ll come back and visit. Thank you for everything, Hope.” He hugged her and Hope gave him a squeeze back. She didn’t want to let him go but she had no right to make him stay.

Hope watched the car drive away then went inside the inn. Remus wasn’t behind the counter or anywhere on the main level, so she went to the back. There he was, in the office sitting at the desk staring at his notepad. On the pad was a sketch of Sirius. “Remus, love, are you all right?”

“I’m fine mum.” Remus said, turning around. He didn’t look all right. He looked defeated. “I trusted someone and I shouldn’t have.”

“Did you let him explain?”

“Why should I?”

“I think you’d like to hear all about it.”

“You know?”

“I did and I told him to tell you. I met him when he was a teenager.” Hope disclosed. She could only keep her fingers crossed that her son wouldn’t be too upset about that fact.

“What?”

“When I went to a Godric’s Gifts party.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Remus clenched his jaw after asking.

“I wanted you to see who he was without anything attached.”

“He’s a dick.”

“He’s not, he saved the Santa Dinner. He found Moody in the storm. He helped in the café. He was so sweet and kind and generous when it got down to it. Sirius needs a little bit of a push in the right direction. His current boyfriend isn’t interested in that at all.”

“Yet, he ran out the door with him.”

“He didn’t look like he was running to me. He looked as if he was being dragged. I wouldn’t be surprised if he turned up here before Boxing Day.”

“If he does, I’d give him a chance but I highly doubt it. He’s going to go to Maui and forget all about us.”

***

Sirius was looking through the box of letters as Gid was complaining about how they needed petrol. He couldn’t find the letter from this year. He had gone through the letters the other night and now he was wondering if he even saw the new letter. Or if he did, what the hell did he do with it? “I need to go back.”

“Like hell you do, we’re stopping for petrol up the way then we’ll keep going to London. Who cares about a bloody letter?”

“They care! It’s important to them. The people in Godric’s and the people in my company!”

“Important to that innkeeper?”

“You know, at least Remus is a good fucking person. That’s more than I can say about you. When was the last time you did something for someone else?”

“I came to rescue you from that hell hole.” Gil complained. “I don’t understand why you’re so worried about Remus. Do you fancy him?”

Sirius bit his cheek.

“He probably hates you now. Didn’t look too happy when I was talking about you last night.” Gil pulled into the petrol station.

“You told him? It was you that told him who I was?” No wonder why Remus wanted nothing to do with him. It wasn’t even Hope he told him, she’d have far more tact.

“What did you think was going to happen when you told him? Of course he was going to hate you.”

Sirius unbuckled his seatbelt.

“Where are you going?”

“Back to Godric’s. I don’t know why I’m with you. Maybe I thought I wasn’t good enough for something better but I am. I can do better than you. You’re a fucking arsehole and I don’t know how I lasted this fucking long. I don’t know how James didn’t force me to leave you. You’re worth far less than anyone in the Hollow.” Sirius opened the car door.

“How are you getting back?”

“I don’t know!” Sirius said, banging a hand on the boot of the car and then Gil popped it open.

As Sirius was pulling his bag out of the boot, a bus pulled in. On the board, it showed it was making it’s way to Godric’s. He had just enough money left in his pocket for the trip. It was like some Christmas Eve miracle. He couldn’t believe that he had left Gil like that but he also couldn’t believe himself for staying with someone like that for so long. Why did he think he deserved that? Probably something about his lovely parents and upbringing. That was a discussion for a therapist.

For now, he needed to get back to Godric’s Hollow and make things right.

***

After finding out Sirius was Sirius, Remus kept wishing that he hated him more. There were a few hours where he didn’t want anything to do with him. Then Remus read more about him and his life before the Potter’s rescued him. It was just as he mentioned it to Remus the other night. He realized that Sirius was not lying completely. His mum also said he was on a mission from Monty for Albus and under strict instructions. That still didn’t mean he completely forgave Sirius. He also didn’t believe the other man would show up at the Santa Dinner.

Yet, there he was standing by the table Remus had some of his sketches displayed. He knew he told his mum he’d give him a chance but Remus loved a good grudge. If anyone deserved it, it was currently Sirius in his eyes. But his mum kept giving him a knowing look from across the room, so he walked over to the table. Sirius looked up with a grin as Remus came to stand next to him.

“You put out your sketches.”

Remus shrugged, “Why not?” He didn’t want to tell Sirius that he decided to do it because of him.

“You’re so talented,” Sirius picked up one of the sketches of Alice.

“What are you doing back here?”

“Ah, well, I left Gil for one. I can’t exactly go to Maui now, not that I would even want to.”

Remus did he best not to let out a sigh of relief. No matter how angry he wanted to be at Sirius, Gilderoy was a moron and Sirius didn’t need him.

“I also think I left a letter behind here. Did Alice clean my room by any chance? Did she find anything?”

Remus frowned, “You lost the Christmas letter?”

“I swear, I don’t even remember seeing it. It doesn’t make sense. Why would I be sent without it? I’m such a fuck up, we shouldn’t be surprised that I lost it.”

“You can go back and look but Santa is going to be here any moment and I’m sure you’ll want to stick around for that.” Remus said after looking at his watch. He needed to announce the man’s arrival in just two minutes.

“Remus, I’m sorry, you know? I was made to come here and at first I was going through the motions. I was on that mission that Monty sent me on but then I started to love everything here — everyone here. You’re all so fantastic.”

“Godric’s is fantastic, sorry it took you so long to figure that out.” Remus folded his arms. “You know, if you’re not going to buy anything, you should probably go.”

Sirius scoffed, “You’re a prick sometimes, you know? In a way that works out for you.”

“I don’t know what to say to that but I have to go.”

“Can we talk more later?”

“Maybe.”

Remus didn’t want to be too easy and say what he felt.

***

Sirius watched Remus walk off towards the stage in the front of the room. The hall was decked out like Santa’s workshop. The stage was set with a large red chair and a chimney that some of the kids made. The hall itself was full with everyone in Godric’s. Some of them were even happy to see Sirius. Of course, one of those people was Hope.

“I knew you’d be back,” Hope said then hugged him.

“I am but I think your son still hates me.”

“He doesn’t. Remus’ hesitant because of what’s happened to him in the past. You have to prove how you feel to him. It’s going to take some work. If you fancy him enough, you’ll be up for it.”

Before Sirius could reply or think too much about that, Remus was on stage announcing the arrival of St. Nick. Out came Santa in his typical red suit but he was a bit skinnier than Sirius always saw depicted. He had a great white beard and white hair. Sirius’ eyes widened when he realized after a beat that Albus was on stage.

“I get to do something very special this Christmas, read the Christmas Letter. This letter is important to Godric’s Hollow as important it is to Godric’s Gifts, myself, and Fleamont.” Albus began.

Sirius didn’t understand how or why the man had the letter. Monty must have sent it directly to him. Of course he did. Monty probably orchestrated the whole thing and then was gleeful when the weather intervened as well.

Albus opened the letter with a smile then looked right at Sirius. “Dear Albus and Godric’s Hollow, Godric’s Gifts has had a wonderful year. We’re growing all the time but still keeping our small business feel. We still take care of our employees and we stay true to what we were founded on: tradition, friendship, community, and love. I have loved working as the head of this wonderful company for over forty years but it’s about time that I hang up my hat and come home.”

Sirius’ let out a little gasp and Hope reached for his hand.

“I will be announcing my retirement this year. Over the next few months I’ll be working with our new CEO, Sirius Black, to have a smoother turn over in power. I do not doubt in my mind that Sirius will continue our good work. He’s spent the last few days here in Godric’s learning about the Hollow, whether he realized it or not.” Albus laughed.

“Once the transition through, I’ll be moving back here to Godric’s with Effie to be with you all and I can’t wait. I know that Sirius will also keep the letters alive and we’ll be able to hear our yearly updates and the company will hear ours.

“I’m looking forward spending more time with you all and I hope you help me welcome Sirius as the new CEO properly. Have a very happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year!”

Everyone clapped and Hope hugged Sirius. He could barely piece two proper thoughts together as everyone came over to congratulate him. By the time he was sure everyone in town had offered their congratulations, Sirius was exhausted but renewed when he saw the people standing in front of him — the Potters. Monty, Effie, James, Lily, and Harry were all there.

“Are you ready?” Monty asked.

“Yeah, I am.”

“I knew you were, I wouldn’t have done this if I didn’t think you were.” Fleamont confirmed.

“It was partly my idea.” James said eagerly. “I was the one to suggest little money and no cards.”

“I thought I should leave you to it here while I was out of town.” Albus said, joining them. “It was so important for you o get to know Godric’s and everyone here without my interference.”

“I think he did just that.” Hope confirmed.

“So, you sent the letter ahead of time?” Sirius said. “I was so scared that I lost it.”

“God, imagine? We’d have to kick you out as CEO already.” James laughed.

Sirius didn’t want to mention the fact that he had left the Hollow with Gil earlier. He didn’t want to talk about the fact he was going to send the letters by mail. He did end up doing the right thing. It just took him a little while to get there.

“Do you want to see what Remus did for the auction?” Sirius asked. “He’s Hope’s son.”

“Oh, brilliant, of course.” Monty nodded.

“Sirius did a lot of it too.” Hope said to them all.

Once Sirius finished showing the Potter’s the donations and talking up Remus a great deal (to the point where James asked if they were shagging), Sirius needed a break. Thankfully the Potter’s got pulled into other conversations so he could break away. He did not see Remus anywhere in the hall so, he assumed the man was outside.

Thankfully, Remus was standing under the overhang in front for the building, looking at the snow falling.

“Hi, I’m Sirius Black. I’m about to be CEO of Godric’s Gifts and I just left my arsehole boyfriend. I think you’re bloody handsome and you have dimples so I was hoping you’d maybe want to go on a date.”

Remus chuckled and shook his head. “You know, you make it hard to be cross with you for too long.”

“Thank god, I think that will work out in the long run with us.” Sirius bumped his shoulder into Remus’. “I’m sorry for lying to you.”

“I know why you did it, I get it. You also told me the truth for the most part. You just left out your name and why you were here. It was all for good reason, you were just following Monty’s direction.”

“You know, I don’t see you or this place as a charity case, right?”

“I think I know that. I think you’re going to have to prove that to me more.” Remus said.

“I’ve no problem with that, as long as you’re going me a chance.” Sirius leaned his head against Remus’ shoulder. “I wanted to kiss you the other night after the snow storm. Honestly, I think I wanted to kiss you since I met you for a variety of different reasons.”

“You should have, maybe you would have left that fucking twat you were dating before he came here. You may have even been able to shag me.”

“I thought you hated me.”

“Only a little at first then a fair amount last night and today.” Remus snickered. “But I like you, I do. I want to give it a try. If I don’t my mother might murder me.”

“That’s reassuring,” Sirius rolled his eyes as Remus put his arm around Sirius’ waist.

“I mean, you are bloody gorgeous and smart. You’re kind when we dig a little deeper. I think this could work if we do.”

“I don’t mind a little work.”

Remus laughed, “So, I think this is when we’re supposed to kiss.”

“Right, I can do that now.” Sirius said then leaned into pressed their lips together.

This was not how Sirius thought he’d be spending his Christmas Eve, with the snow falling around him in the of Remus Lupin, but he was damn happy that was where he was.


End file.
